Ok, I was looking through my attic the other day, and I found this coin. It looked interesting, so I looked up some information. I got excited when I found out it could be worth a hundred bucks. I was petrified when I found out it could be worth thousands. So I go to some sites to see if I can find out how much this baby's worth. I see many cryptographic codes, I then see descriptions of the codes. I find many mind-boggling explanations, saying,"If there is a slight buffer here and a scratch here then it's...","If there is a BIGGER buffer here and a smaller scratch there, then it's...". This was all quite confusing, so I came here. Now to the coin. I've found out the following: It seems shiny, but not mirror-like, there seems to be no tarnish, and there seems to be a few small scratches here and there. If you could throw me a give-or-take price range, I'd appreciate it. Some pics are below, I have degraded the original 5 Megapixel images to help with loading times. If you want the higher quality images for closer inspection, you can email me at "addeis@msn.com". Thanks.
Frankly the problem with your pictures is not their resolution, but how dark they are! I was able to lighten them in my rudimentary photo editing program enough to see that you may have an 1894 Philadelphia (no mint mark) Morgan Dollar (if it is genuine). I'm one of the 17 coin collectors in the world who doesn't collect Morgans, and I have zero expertise with regard to them, but from your description and what I can see of the coin in your pictures, I would guess that its grade is no higher than MS60, which is quoted at $950 in the 2003 Red Book. Perhaps someone with a greysheet will see your posting and give you a more current figure. The relevant Red Book range is from $600 for an almost uncirculated coin, to $3,500 for an MS63, a grade level which I don't think your coin can achieve. There were only 110,000 business strikes and 972 proofs minted in Philadelphia that year, and almost 3-million business strikes at the New Orleans and San Francisco mints combined.
If that's all it's worth, I guess I won't be hitting the Riviera anytime soon... But it's still a nice little piece, and it has put me on to coin collecting. BTW, if it helps I have enhanced the images in Photoshop. They seem to have much more clarity, if they are still too dark, I'll take some photos with better lighting tomorrow. Thanks again.
Wait, I coulda sworn your post said 60$. My eyes are playing tricks, it was actually 950$!! Of course I won't get my hopes up. Considering all of the many factors that goes into the appraisals.
The coin looks like it is XF or AU. Coin Dealer Newsletter "bid" is $1,150 in XF and $1,850 in AU for an 1894 Philly Morgan. It does not look fake to me, but will be interesting to know what the dealer says when you have it appraised.
Yea, things are looking pretty healthy for this Morgan. Still could be a fake, I've looked it over though. Seems to be well struck, and in a few days, I'll prb. take it down to the local "PCGS" authorized appraiser. Funny thing is, I know nothing about this coin. Seems almost too good to be true. First I find out that it's a pretty valuable year, and then I find that it was struck in Philadelphia. I guess luck has "shined upon me".
Well, that is certain a nice "attic" find. All i'll find in my attic is mice! Well, if you decide to sell it, get mulitple offers for a coin this valuable (if genuine). A rule of thumb I've heard is 10% behind "bid" for common coins, but you might get bid or even better for a coin of this value (depending on what a particular dealer's needs are). Dont feel obligated to sell it to the dealer that appraised it.
I can't tell from the small scan and the lack of light, but from just what I can see, I'd vote for AU-50, maybe AU-53. To confirm that, you'd want to hold it under a light and swirl it around. If you see unbroken luster on even the high points of the coin, it could be mint state; more likely, you'll see dulled or completely broken luster on the high points, and you probably have an AU coin. I've never found anything like this in my attic...
sandyfox - The first thing you need to do is get that coin into a quality coin holder like an AirTite. The second thing you need to do is submit it to one of the better grading companies like NGC. As for taking it to a dealer for appraisal first - this would be fine as long as you know & trust the dealer. But be aware - there are more than a few dealers who when faced with this will tell you the coin is fake. Then they will offer to buy it. Don't sell it - period - no matter how much they offer you. Have the coin certified first.
Ditto what GDJMSP said. Any 1894 Morgan coin is well sought after in this marketplace, so you will be able to off-load it if you with. But even if you decide to keep it, I would go forward with submitting it to PCGS (NGC, ANACS, etc) for authentication and grading. With an 1894 Morgan, it is best to know exactly what the experts think you are dealing with.
Yea, I'll prb. get a couple of appraisals, just to find out the value, and prb. won't sell it for a long time, if ever. I'll look into those Airtite containers. Thanks for all your help, and I'll try and keep you updated.
